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Unfortunately, Week 6 brought fantasy managers the first big in-season injury of the year. Losing Marquise Brown on the last second of a completely irrelevant play is a tough, tough break for any fantasy manager rostering him. Hollywood was providing his fantasy managers with high-end WR1 production and while he'll return again this season, there are plenty of reasons to wonder if he'll return and provide the same value he did in Weeks 1–6.
Fantasy managers are also patiently (or maybe not so patiently) waiting for Keenan Allen and Michael Thomas to return to their lineups. Now with bye weeks starting, those injuries are getting more and more difficult to manage and work around. Luckily, fantasy managers will get Amon-Ra St. Brown back to full health this week and it sure looks like Chris Godwin is on the verge of a breakout game.
While the Cardinals did lose Brown, they'll get the formerly suspended receiver DeAndre Hopkins back onto the field. Let's take a look at some of the biggest wide receiver injuries we need to be tracking this week.
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Marquise Brown, Arizona Cardinals
This is a big one and it’ll be terribly difficult for fantasy managers to overcome this loss. Through six weeks of the season, Hollywood has racked up 88 half-PPR points and is averaging 14.67 PPG. That is good for WR8. He was a set-it-and-forget WR1. Forget the old stereotypes about small receivers not being able to be target hogs or WR1s because Brown was flat-out crushing it.
Marquise Brown pre-injury pace: 122-1374-9. Dude was balling. pic.twitter.com/tEeA7NJ4AL
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 17, 2022
Unfortunately, on the last play of the game in Week 6, a meaningless play where the Cardinals had a 0% chance of winning or tying the game, the Cardinals threw a jump ball up to Brown and he significantly injured his foot. Initial reports indicated it could potentially be a season-ending injury. Luckily, fantasy managers got some good news.
Some good news for #AZCardinals WR Hollywood Brown: Following the MRI, his foot isn’t as bad as was initially thought. It’s a small, non-surgical fracture, source said. Recovery time is about 6 weeks. He’s getting a second opinion from Dr. Robert Anderson before moving forward.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 17, 2022
Brown is expected to miss the next six weeks. The Cardinals have a bye in Week 13, which is exactly six weeks from where we are now. This likely means fantasy managers should expect to have him back in their lineups by Week 14. This gives him one week to get back up to speed before the fantasy playoffs begin.
Still, this injury could have some lingering issues and it’d be unwise to expect the same Hollywood to return this season. If the Cardinals' season continues to slide off the rails, they could elect to shut him down entirely just to play it safe. Right now, fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back until Week 14 at the earliest.
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Keenan Allen hasn’t played since Week 1 as he’s attempting to get over a hamstring injury. When it originally happened, it was not reported to be serious and fantasy managers expected a return in 2-3 weeks. That was 2-3 weeks ago.
He did return to practice around 2-3 weeks ago in an attempt to return and it’s unknown if he re-aggravated the injury or if he could just tell it wasn’t ready. At this time, it doesn’t really matter. He’s missed the last five weeks, but there’s optimism on the horizon.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen doubts he'll play against the Broncos on Monday Night Football, says he's targeting a return in Week 7 vs. the Seahawks. https://t.co/FB4k8AUDMY
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) October 15, 2022
Keenan Allen has indicated he’s targeting a Week 7 return. Fantasy managers are no doubt anxious to get the star receiver back into the lineups. Hopefully, with the extended absence, Allen won’t need to be on a snap count early, but that’s always possible. If he’s active, you pretty much have to play him.
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
Much like Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas’s foot/toe injury was also originally reported to be minor. In fact, there was some optimism he might be able to play the following week. Now, with Allen, fantasy managers may have believed the optimism, but with Thomas, this was always the concern. He hasn’t been healthy in two years and the minute he got hurt, you just got the feeling this could be much longer than what was being reported. Turns out, we’re not even out of the woods yet.
Told this morning that the Saints do not expect to have Marshon Lattimore, Mike Thomas or Jarvis Landry back in time for the Cardinals game on Thursday night. There's optimism that Chris Olave will be back, though.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) October 17, 2022
The Saints are all but ruling Thomas out for their Week 7 contest against the Cardinals this Thursday night. He’s been listed as a DNP Monday and Tuesday of this week, which begs the question if he’ll even be ready to go in Week 8.
At this point, there’s no point in speculating. All fantasy managers know right now is Thomas won’t be available in Week 7. Will he be available in Week 8 or sometime before the season ends? We have absolutely no idea.
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Along with Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry has also been pretty much ruled out for the Saints’ Week 7 game. However, it appears as though Chris Olave will return to the lineup. On the Saints’ practice report for their upcoming Thursday night game, Olave was completely taken off the report. That would indicate he has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and is cleared to return. Luckily, we got even more confirmation from Olave himself.
Saints WR Chris Olave said he is fully cleared, 100% and planning to return Thursday at Arizona after missing Week 6 with a concussion.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 18, 2022
With Landry and Thomas both expected to miss the game this Thursday night, fantasy managers shouldn’t be at all hesitant to immediately slot Olave back into their starting lineups. The Arizona defense has been extremely generous to opposing offenses this year, which puts Olave in a nice spot to immediately return value.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
Rashod Bateman was diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain back in Week 4 and it always seemed like he was destined to miss multiple games. He has practiced in any capacity the past two weeks, so it’s hard to know exactly where he’s at and what his availability might be.
It turns out that Ravens WR Rashod Bateman has a sprained left foot. "He's close (to returning)," John Harbaugh said.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) October 17, 2022
While the tweet above certainly paints some optimism for Bateman’s chances at a Week 7 return, it should be noted head coach, Jim Harbaugh said Bateman might be back for Week 6. Bateman proceeded to record three straight DNPs on his way to his second straight absence.
Fantasy managers are best planning to be without Bateman for a third straight week. Even if he returns, his snap counts weren’t exactly great before getting hurt and there’d be a decent chance he could be a snap count his first week back. It’s best to play it safe with Bateman for another week, even if he’s active.
Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
Randall Cobb and the Packers seem to have gotten lucky on the injury front. When Cobb initially got injured during their loss to the Jets, Cobb believed he had fractured his ankle, which would have ended his season. However, after tests, the injury was not nearly as serious.
It turns out that Ravens WR Rashod Bateman has a sprained left foot. "He's close (to returning)," John Harbaugh said.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) October 17, 2022
Cobb could still find his way to short-term IR, where he’d be forced to miss four games, but it sounds like he’ll be back sooner than later. High ankle sprains typically take longer to heal, so fantasy managers should plan on being without Cobb for the next few games.
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
Jahan Dotson injured his hamstring in Week 4 and head coach Ron Rivera said at the time he expected Dotson to miss 2-3 weeks. He missed Weeks 5 and 6, which could put him on track for a return this week, but at this time, it’s unknown.
He did not practice at all leading up to their Week 6 contest, so fantasy managers are still very much in the dark regarding his potential availability this upcoming weekend. To complicate things further, the Commanders will have a new quarterback under center.
With the possibility that Dotson might be on a snap count due to how these soft tissue injuries can linger and the quarterback change, it’s best fantasy managers make alternative plans at receiver this week, even if Dotson is active.
Sammy Watkins, Green Bay Packers
Sammy Watkins has missed the last four weeks after being put on IR following the Packers' Week 2 game. Through the first two games of the season, Watkins was their leading receiver. It should be noted that Allen Lazard did miss Week 1, but Watkins finished with 93 yards and 10.8 half-PPR points in the second week of the season. With Randall Cobb likely going to IR himself and talk about potentially shutting rookie Christian Watson down, Watkins could return to a prominent role in the Packers' offense.
Matt LaFleur said they're hopeful WR Sammy Watkins can come off IR this week.
Meanwhile, Randall Cobb's injury -- while not season ending -- is "not going to be a one-week deal. I think he's going to miss some time."
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) October 17, 2022
Rodgers has struggled mightily throwing the ball downfield and that might be an area Watkins could help the whole offense with. It's been a long time since he's been a true downfield threat, but the Packers' offense is in a funk. With injuries starting to mount and bye weeks starting, if you're in a deep league, Watkins might be worth a look. Head coach Matt LaFleur expects Watkins to practice this week, which leaves open the possibility he might be active this week in what looks to be a plus matchup against the Commanders.
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